Mark Munoz, left, fighting Chris Weidman in a UFC on Fuel 4 last July, has become a champion of anti-bulling efforts. JEFF CHIU, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FIGHT OF THE WEEK

Vitor Belfort vs. Luke Rockhold

When: Saturday

Where: Arena Jaragua, Jaragua do Sol, Santa Catarina, Brazil

How to watch: UFC on FX 8 on FX at 6 p.m.; UFC on FX 8 prelims on Fuel TV at 3 p.m.; and UFC on FX 8 prelims on Facebook at 1:35 p.m.

Outlook: Rockhold (10-1), the former Strikeforce middleweight champion, makes his UFC debut against Belfort (22-10), a former UFC light-heavyweight champion, in the main event of UFC on FX 8.

Prediction: No one should ever underestimate Belfort, who nearly tapped UFC 205-pound champion Jon Jones with an armbar at UFC 152 and who knocked out Michael Bisping with a head kick in his past two bouts. Belfort still possesses vicious punching power and if he can close the distance he can knock out Rockhold. But closing the distance is the problem against Rockhold's superior striking and kicks. Rockhold will establish himself as one of the UFC's top contenders at 185 pounds with a victory over "The Phenom."

Record in 2013 picks: 10-5

CARLOS ARIAS

It's hard to imagine someone like Mark Munoz ever getting bullied.

After all, Munoz is a former NCAA national wrestling champion who is now one of the top middleweight fighters in the UFC and who goes by the moniker "The Filipino Wrecking Machine."

"In the eighth grade, I actually got jumped for my shoes," said Munoz, who grew up in Vallejo and now lives with his wife and three kids in Mission Viejo. "I was wearing the Jordan 3s, which are a vintage pair of Jordans."

Munoz is involved with his church and in the community. He has spoken at local high schools as part of his anti-bully campaign.

"I have a pair of (Jordan 3s) to this day," Munoz said. "When I go and do the anti-bullying speeches at high schools, I actually wear those pair of Jordans and I tell them I got jumped for these shoes."

Munoz said he felt victimized, helpless, ashamed and he felt he couldn't tell anybody about the incident. His friends sensed something was wrong, and they eventually got the whole story.

"It gave me a voice," Munoz said. "Often times, people get bullied and they feel like they can't talk to anyone. Those are the things that I like to communicate with them, the students. I say, 'Hey, don't feel like you don't have a voice. You have a voice.'

"And then so many people just watch this stuff happen. They are just bystanders instead of standing up and saying, 'Hey, that ain't cool.' Standing up for something you believe in is right. I talk to the kids about the people that are bystanders that can make a difference."

Munoz, who owns Reign Training Center in Lake Forest, has been hitting the gym hard lately. He has a fight against Tim Boetsch at UFC 162 on July 6 in Las Vegas on pay-per-view. It will be his first fight in nearly a year.

Munoz hasn't fought since being knocked out in the second round by Chris Weidman at UFC on Fuel TV 4 on July 11, 2012. Munoz had been on a four-fight winning streak, and there was talk he could be next in line to challenge UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. The loss and a couple of surgeries kept him out for nearly a year. His weight ballooned to 260 pounds, and he fights at 185 pounds.

"That whole year I had last year kind of threw me into a tailspin," Munoz said. "Instead of concentrating my mind on positive things I fell victim to all the negative that was in my life. When that happened to me, I turned to food. If you watch the Austin Powers movies, one of his characters was Fat Bastard and I was just like him. I ate because I was sad, and I was sad because I ate. I couldn't do anything because my elbow was still pretty bad. My foot was broken. I would go to the gym and I was sad because I was watching everybody working out. I mean, that's what I do."

Munoz eventually healed after six months of inactivity and it was time to cut out the hamburgers, barbecues and comfort foods. He said he stopped dwelling on the things that were out of his control.

"I think when people go through depression they don't concentrate on the things that they actually have and are blessed with," Munoz said. "Now, when I snapped out of it I was like, 'You know what? I still have my health. I'm going to heal up. When I'm healed up, now I can go train. So right now I'm going to concentrate on what I can do right now to be able to benefit when I get back to training.' I got control of the tailspin and I was able to start the upward climb. A little bit more, a little bit more, until now where I want to be. It was a hard climb."

HEALY TESTS POSITIVE

Pat Healy made his UFC debut at UFC 159 on April 27 in grand style, submitting Jim Miller in the third round to establish himself as a top contender at 155 pounds. The biggest victory in Healy's career has been turned into a no-contest by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board after he tested positive for marijuana. Healy also will be suspended for 90 days, and he won't receive $130,000 for fight of the night and submission bonuses.

Bryan Caraway, who submitted Johnny Bedford at UFC 159, will receive a $65,000 bonus for submission of the night instead of Healy, UFC president Dana White confirmed on Twitter. Healy admitted to socially smoking marijuana a month before the fight and apologized to the UFC, his family and to Miller in a statement released Tuesday.

"I would like to start off by apologizing to the UFC, Jim Miller, the MMA community, its fans, my family, teammates and coaches for my positive testing for marijuana after my UFC 159 fight with Jim Miller," Healy said in the statement. "I was fully aware of the UFC and State Commissions drug policies and made poor life choices. I stand behind the UFC and State Commission's disciplinary actions. I support efforts to make MMA and sports a clean, safe and fair place to compete.

"First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge and take responsibility for my mistake. I made a very poor choice to socially use marijuana and now I must face the consequences of that choice. I can assure you that I will do everything the UFC and State Commission asks of me and beyond. I will also make a conscious effort to be a better role model within the MMA community."

BELLATOR SUPER-SIZED

The kickoff of Bellator's Summer Series just got super-sized with the addition of a heavyweight tournament to a main card that will now include six bouts at Bellator 96, which will also be a three-hour live telecast on Spike TV.

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